The Dazzling Darkness
by Mislagnissa
Summary: Magic always comes with a price: whenever we pray for someone's happiness, someone else must be cursed in exchange. This universal constant—and the consequences of defying it—reached further than we ever imagined.
1. Chapter 1

**Loop n. Thursday, June 23, 20XX. Walpurgisnacht has arrived.**

Walpurgis hung in the sky, ready to wipe Mitakihara Town right off the map. It slowly closed on the shelter, the people inside ignorant of their impending doom. Buildings flew across the sky, crashing into each other and raining debris on the city. Homura was up there, doing her best to fight it. Blood was running down her face, and it was all she could do to stay awake. A thousand rockets streaked towards the gigantic witch and a dozen municipal buses crashed into it. She was throwing enough firepower to level a city, but it was to no avail. Walpurgisnacht was simply too powerful.

Homura wasn't about to give up now. Mami, Sayaka, and Kyoko may have been dead, partly due to her own actions, but that didn't matter. She was going to win. She was going to defeat Walpurgis… until her sand ran out. It was really annoying being limited to stopping time only within a single month, the same month of the same year over and over again. She never really understood why her shield was limited to traveling within the same month, but then again she had little to experiment with. Homura had a moment to think "Oh shit!" before a skyscraper slammed into her.

All Madoka could do was watch in horror as Mitakihara Town was reduced to ruins. Unless, of course, she did the unthinkable… This is what Kyubey had been waiting for, all along. Madoka knew that it was up to her now. She had to make a wish and save everyone, without in turn becoming and witch and destroying everything she loved. Kyubey sat in front her, its tail moving to and fro as it waited for her make the choice. It stared at her, impassive. It didn't care what would happen to her or anyone else, all it wanted was kindling for the fire. Madoka stared down at the accursed white ferret. She hated him. The alien had brought nothing but suffering for her and her friends, no matter its weak justification that it was helping mankind or saving the universe or whatever it tried to sell her.

Homura Akemi opened her eyes and sat up, drenched in sweat, panting and sobbing. Walpurgis just kept turning in the sky, cackling madly without a care in the world as the ruins of Mitakihara orbited her like planets around a star.

"I just wish I could protect you, too," murmured Madoka by her side. "My mother always told me to respect people's decisions, because we learn by making mistakes. I can't take those wishes away, it would make me no better than Kyubey. But… I can't deal with this!"

"No!" Homura cried. Screaming in agony, she wretched herself upward, half pushing the debris off her and half tearing her leg from under it. Somehow, whether from adrenaline or the inspiration of her dearest friend, Homura decided not to give up, not yet. She stood up weakly. She could feel a warm, wet sensation leaking down her arms and legs and one of her eyes wasn't focusing correctly. Being hit by a building always felt worse than the last time.

"Homura! Please! It's too much for you," cried Madoka. "I wanted to tell an adult this whole time, but what could they do?! We didn't know what we were getting into, we made our wishes and we died."

"I'm sorry. I have to do this," Homura replied without glancing at the pinkette, and began walking to the edge of the ruined building she stood on.

"It's not fair," cried Madoka. "Even if I wished away all the witches, it wouldn't change that. Puella magi always give up hope… and they just let themselves die. What chance do we have?" Madoka stared at the violette for a few moments, tears in her eyes. "Just promise me," she began, "that when this is all over, we'll see each other again."

Homura stopped walking, and glanced mournfully back at her. A moment later, she replied, "I promise."

The tears in the pinkette's eyes began falling freely now as the time traveler turned to face the monstrosity dominating the city skyline. With a little jump, the violette was suddenly sailing through the air.

"Would my wish really be strong enough to rewrite reality?" asked Madoka.

« You could do anything you wanted. Your potential is virtually god-like, » replied Kyubey.

"But if I make that wish, then the world will be destroyed!"

« That is of no consequence to me. »

Madoka closed her eyes, and thought for a few long, precious moments. Then she opened her eyes, a new resolve filling them. The solution was surprisingly simple, she thought.

"I've made my decision," she said finally, looking directly at Kyubey. "I wish… I wish that things were different. That my friends, that all puella magi didn't have to suffer and die. I just wish this nightmare would end!"

« What?! That's blasphemy against the wish itself! You have no idea what the consequences could be! »

"I don't care," cried the pinkette. "Grant my wish, incubator!" Suddenly she started glowing, and her hair blew about her head as though in a breeze.

High in the sky, Homura could only watch as a bright light filled her vision. Realizing what Madoka had done, she screamed. But it was too late.

"Madoka!"

**Loop n+1. Monday, May 16, 20XX. 38 days until Walpurgisnacht.**

That morning, Homura Akemi opened her eyes for what was probably the latest in a dozen times or close to it. Oh god, she hadn't lost count, had she? Forget it, that wasn't important.

She sat up and glanced around, realizing she was in her bed at the hospital. It was just like before, like none of it had happened. She'd failed, again. Now she would have to do it all over. Wasting no time, she pulled aside the covers and got out of bed, then walked into the bathroom.

She was about to pull out her soul gem when she heard a familiar click: the sound of a pistol being cocked.

"Never again."

The voice sounded disturbingly familiar. Homura's head remained still, but her eyes darted to the reflection in the mirror.

To her horror, Hitomi Shizuki was standing right next to her, dressed in a puella magi uniform—a lot like the violette's own actually, except with green accents—with a pistol pointed at Homura's head. The doppelganger even held a shield—just like the violette's own. Hitomi's expression was one of unrestrained hatred and disgust.

"Nothing will ever hurt Sayaka," said Hitomi.

"But I—" Homura began.

Then her head exploded like an overripe tomato.

**Loop n+2. Monday, May 16, 20XX. 38 days until Walpurgisnacht.**

Homura opened her eyes... or more accurately, she instantly sat up and started screaming with her eyes wide open.

What the hell was going on? How could she be sitting here _right now_?

She immediately shut her mouth and begin taking breaths, slowly. In, out, in, out, in, out. Hopefully none of the hospital staff heard her. She needed to remain calm. What happened was a fluke. Right? Hitomi wasn't going to appear a second time and shoot her in the face? Right?

She got out of bed again and entered the bathroom. She glanced warily around before pulling out her soul gem and repairing her myopia. Now she needed to collect weapons, kill the witches, and stop Kyubey. Everything was going to go fine. Right?

Homura revisited her old haunts. The military, the yakuza, the Americans... after many, many hours (but only a few minutes to the rest of the world) she had accumulated a massive arsenal. Guns, rocket launchers, missiles, bombs of all sorts, even an aircraft carrier. She had no idea how she could fit all that inside her puny shield. A question for the philosophers, then.

She made her way to the Shizuki residence after looking it up in the phonebook. On the way, she took out a few of her old witch friends (and she used that term lightly) and saved some grief seeds. She hoped she wouldn't need them.

It was nearly sundown when she reached the Shizuki residence. And what a residence it was. A garish mansion, as usual. It made her wonder why Hitomi even went to public school.

Stealthily, Homura made her way around the exterior of the house to Hitomi's room. She... didn't actually know where it was, never having had to visit before, but she made do by looking for the room with Hitomi in it. Aha!

She found Hitomi sitting in her room, doing homework. Conveniently, the room had a balcony and the greenette had left the window open. Homura was able to get a good look at her from the stealthy vantage right outside.

"Hey Homura! I didn't see you there! Are you a puella magi too?" Hitomi cried, interrupting the spying.

Shocked by the greenette noticing her and acting all happy-like, Homura let out a yelp and nearly lost her footing before falling onto the balcony in a heap. Immediately she stood up.

"So you _are_ a puella magi! This is great! We can beat Walpurgis together!" exclaimed Hitomi.

What was going on? She wasn't attacking? She was acting like the two were already friends or something?

"What are you talking about?" asked Homura warily.

"Oh, I guess you wouldn't remember! Well, I met Kyubey and he showed me the world of puella magi, and that's how we met Mami. But she kind of... died, and Sayaka and Madoka were left to face Walpurgis on their own." Hitomi's cheerful mood suddenly became somber, before perking up again. "But I wished to go back in time so I could save everyone. Now we can work together and save the city!"

Dear god. It was like looking into a mirror. A mirror of happy days long past. Homura paused for a while, thinking of what to say.

"Hitomi, I am a time traveler as well," she replied.

Hitomi glanced at her thoughtfully. "You are?"

Homura put on her best poker face. "Yes."

"What a bizarre coincidence."

"Before we work together to defeat Walpurgis, I need to lay some ground rules as your puella magi senpai. You haven't fought before, right?"

The greenette nodded.

"First of all, do not trust Kyubey. His greatest talent is that he can trick and manipulate people without telling a single lie, and then the little bastard has the audacity to blame us for being stupid enough to take his words at face value. I learned that the hard way."

Hitomi's eyes widened.

"Second... Mami showed you what grief seeds are, right?"

She nodded again.

"Alright. Second, do not let your soul gem turn black."

"What happens if it turns black?"

"You die. Horribly."

She gulped.

"Thirdly, do not let Sayaka become a puella magi. She'll go crazy, her soul gem will turn black, and she'll die."

"But that didn't happen last time."

Homura paused. Hitomi being supportive of Sayaka probably would've made a difference in her fate, however miniscule. "In my experience, it has a high likelihood of happening. Don't bet your life on her fate. Fourthly, do not let Madoka become a puella magi. Same reason. Fifthly, carry your soul gem with you at all times. Never, ever let it out of your sight, not even for a moment."

"I don't want to know why, do I?"

"No."

Hitomi looked at her somberly. "What happened to you, Homura? You used to be so happy."

"Things happened. Horrible things."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

For a moment, Homura considered confessing everything. She thought better of it. "All you need to know right now is that I've gone back in time about a dozen times now and every single time, everyone has died."

"A dozen times?!"

"I don't know how much longer I can last. Things have been getting strange lately. This is the first time I've ever seen you become a puella magi." Homura suddenly came to a realization. "I suspect things may be changing," she mused aloud. "Kyosuke used to play the guitar, if I—nevermind. We'll start your training tomorrow. Get some sleep. You'll need it. Here's my cell number."

And with that, Homura left.

**Loop n+2. Tuesday, May 17, 20XX. 37 days until Walpurgisnacht.**

The next day, Homura begin training Hitomi. As she suspected, the greenette's power was identical to the violette's... which was more than a bit creepy. Was the Hitomi that killed her some future version of this Hitomi? No, no, Homura wouldn't think about that… it was better for her sanity. The only problem was that their time stops were not in sync. If either of them used it, the other was paused.

"What if we pause at exactly the same moment? Our shields have a clock function, so if we synchronize them at the exact same moment...?" Hitomi suggested.

"Alright," Homura answered.

They tried it. To their surprise, it actually worked. Something finally went right for once!

Hitomi glanced at Homura while the world was frozen. "Can we do anything besides pausing time?" the greenette asked. "Like rewind, fast forward, record?"

"Not that I know of," Homura explained. "But maybe. I did, after all, develop the ability to fly a while ago."

The greenette stared at her. "You can fly? How does that make sense?"

"I... don't know."

Homura sighed. She don't know how it was possible, but her time travel was causing Madoka's karma to accumulate immensely. When Walpurgis came, Madoka would be sorely tempted to become a puella magi. If she did, everyone would die and Homura would have to start over. With Hitomi here, with the same powers she had, there was no telling what the effects on the timeline would be. Things could get a whole lot worse. They needed to work together.

Homura pushed her existential crisis to the back of her mind. After spending a session giving Hitomi a crash course in casting time stop and shooting a gun, she decided it was time for a practical test.

"Alright Hitomi," Homura began. "I think it's time we went on a witch hunt. Take this." she tossed the greenette a grief seed. "You know how to use those, right?"

The greenette nodded and cleansed her gem. Homura felt a momentary wave of disgust upon seeing this. To think that their magic was powered by hope, leaving a void that their negative emotions greedily fill until they implode on themselves... The puella magi system was a truly ingenious work of sadism: every single aspect was carefully designed to inflict the maximum possible suffering. Despite what he may have claimed, Kyubey was no valiant hero saving the universe: he was a monster, plain and simple. The worst part was that she didn't even have the luxury of calling him evil— certainly amoral and likely self-serving, but never evil. That just made her hate him even more.

The two of them made their way over the roofs of Mitakihara, jumping from building to building. They didn't talk to one another. Hitomi was still reeling from her illusions being shattered, but Homura was glad to finally have someone who understood her even a little bit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Loop n+2. Saturday, May 18, 20XX. 36 days until Walpurgisnacht.**

Homura blinked a couple times and sat up in her cozy bed. Her cellphone was vibrating against the top of the nightstand. "SHIZUKI" was displayed on the screen. _What an odd dream,_ she thought to herself and picked up the phone.

"Hitomi?" she answered.

"It's me," Hitomi replied. "I just wanted to check up on you."

"Thanks. Is everything alright with you?"

"Yeah. The witch hunt last night was… intense."

"The first time always is."

"I noticed you aren't wearing glasses anymore. I, that is..."

"Yes? What is it?"

"Is... is it possible to heal Kyosuke's hand with magic?"

There was a pause on Homura's end. "I see," she answered. "You want to keep Sayaka from contracting?"

"Uh huh. Is it possible?"

"Repairing muscles and nerves is actually quite easy."

"There's a "but" in there somewhere, isn't there?"

"I've never needed to consciously repair my own injuries, much less those of a different person."

"But healing is healing. Why should it differ for someone else?"

"Are you familiar with the reasoning behind acupuncture?"

"Not in the least."

"Basically, every person has a residual self-image tied to meridians that extend through their body. When a puella magi recovers, her magic automatically repairs injuries according to the template laid out by her meridians."

"So repairing Kyosuke's hand..."

"...would require training ourselves in magical surgery. Possible, but it might take weeks and we're on a tight budget as it is. I'm only practiced in repairing myopia and a specific congenital heart condition at the moment." Yeah, letting her friends die again wasn't going to tax her sanity. No siree.

"Can't we just let him regenerate the damage himself, like a puella magi can?"

"Imbue him with a limited magic potential? Hm... I've never done that before but it couldn't hurt to try."

"Could we meet at the hospital after school today?"

"Alright, I'll see you then."

Later that day, Homura entered the waiting room as promised. Hitomi was already sitting in one of the seats. The violette was glad to see her. She walked over as the greenette noticed her and waved.

"Hey Homura," Hitomi greeted her. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Homura replied. "Kyosuke's room is this way."

She turned and walked away. Hitomi followed. The two of them make their way to Kyosuke's room and let themselves in. Kyosuke, sitting in the bed, looked up at them in confusion.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Hello Kamijo-kun," Hitomi replied. "I'm Hitomi Shizuki and she's Homura Akemi. We're friends of Sayaka's."

Homura wasted no time and locked the door behind her before assuming her puella magi form.

"Huh? What did you just...?" Kamijo trailed off in confusion.

"Homura?" asked Hitomi in shock.

"I'm a puella magi," Homura explained, "and I'm here to fix your hand. Kamijo, I need you to remain absolutely calm. Can you do that?"

The boy appeared shaken, but nodded. She supposed he was too shocked by the revelation that magic is real to put up a protest. Her soul gem appeared in her hand, then she calmly went to the bed and sat next to Kyosuke.

"Your arm, please?" she asked.

The boy offered his bandaged arm. She gently grabbed it with her other hand and held it in front of her.

"This might feel a bit strange," she warned. "Tell me if anything feels wrong or painful."

She held her soul gem next to his arm and begin concentrating. Enchanting mundane objects was a rather simple task for puella magi. Enchanting a human being was probably less so. After a few moments, his arm began to glow with a purple outline.

"Is it working?" Hitomi asked, watching from behind Homura.

"Just a bit longer," the violette replied absently.

After another moment she felt satisfied that she had placed enough magic into the arm and ceased concentrating. She released Kyosuke's arm and he began examining it.

"I don't feel any different," he said.

"It may take some time before your nerves and muscles regenerate," Homura explained as best she could. "We'll make regular visits to check up on your progress, okay?"

The boy nodded. She stood up, and as she did so her soul gem vanished and she resumed her civilian clothes. The violette turned to leave.

"I expect you won't tell anyone what you've just seen?" she asked, glancing back at him.

"Who'd believe me?" he asked in return.

He would have been surprised, she thought to herself.

The two puella magi left the hospital, said their farewells, and left for their respective homes. Lying on her bed, Hitomi felt a strong sense of satisfaction at what she did today. If she could keep her friends from suffering the same fates they did the last time she knew them, she would have felt that much more confident she could save Mitakihara Town from the destruction to come.

« Hello Hitomi Shizuki. My name is Kyubey, » said a voice in her mind.

Hitomi sat up. Sitting on the foot of her bed was none other than Kyubey. Homura had told her he could not be trusted and would throw then under the proverbial bus when it suited him. She restrained the desire to kill the little white bastard, just barely.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

« It's curious. Both you and Homura Akemi are puella magi, but I do not remember contracting either of you. Would you be able to explain this incongruity? »

"Perhaps. I am not at liberty to discuss that."

« Very well. »

Kyubey turned and walked out the open window. After he left, she stood and went to the window, closing it behind him. She went back to her bed, picked up your cellphone, and then dialed Homura. It rang once before she answered.

"Yes, Hitomi?" answered the violette. "What is it?"

"Kyubey visited me just now."

There was a pause. "I see," Homura finally said. "What did he want?"

"He wants to know how we're puella magi without him contracting us. I didn't answer."

"Wise choice. He doesn't need to know about us. Is that all?"

"Yes, I—"

BLAM!

"Hitomi! Are you alright? What was that?"

"I'm fine. I just heard a gunshot go off downstairs."

"I'll be there soon!"

Homura hung up and time froze immediately. Having thought ahead, the two had reprogrammed their watches to automatically synchronize to avoid getting confused or stuck. Hitomi changed into her puella magi outfit and pulled out a submachine gun, then carefully exited her room and walked down the stairs toward where she had heard the gunshot. As she drew closer, she realized it was in the kitchen. She entered...

A few minutes later, Homura finally arrived at the Shizuki residence. She entered the mansion and went to where she sensed Hitomi's presence: the kitchen. When she entered…

Lying on the kitchen floor, blood pooling from under the bullet hole in her forehead, was Hitomi Shizuki. _Another_ Hitomi Shizuki. Hitomi Magica stood across from her, still staring at the site in shock, horror, and confusion. The greenette look up at the violette immediately. It was a real good thing her parents had day jobs, otherwise this would have invited a lot of uncomfortable questions.

"What just happened?" they both asked aloud.

"I-I just found her lying there," cried Hitomi frantically. "Homura, what's going on?"

"I don't know. Things are just… changing," replied Homura cryptically.

Homura put her gun away, knelt next to the body, and begin rifling through its clothes. No rings, no bracelets, no earrings… where the hell was her Soul Gem? She had to have one! She had to!

"What the hell are you doing?!" cried Hitomi.

"Looking for her Soul Gem," replied Homura coldly.

"What?! I'm—_she's_ dead!"

"If the Soul Gem's intact and the body's salvageable, it's not permanent."

Hitomi grimaced at the way Homura said "salvageable." It sounded like really nasty business. Man was Homura not exaggerating when she explained there were things Hitomi didn't want to know about being a puella magi.

She didn't find a Soul Gem, fragments or any evidence there ever _was_ one. Homura pulled a key out of Hi—out of the body's pocket and stared at it blankly. An ordinary brass key. But to what?

"Is that her Soul Gem?" asked Hitomi.

"No. It's just a key," Homura replied, glancing at the greenette. "For all we know, she was just an ordinary school girl."

Hitomi glanced at the body, even though she wished it didn't exist. She glanced at the meticulously maintained school uniform... at the blank, lifeless eyes staring accusingly back at her. She felt sick.

"I… oh god," Hitomi began frantically. "Who was she? How did she get here? Why does she look like me?!"

Homura was immediately at her side, placing a reassuring hand on the greenette's shoulder.

"I know it's not alright, Hitomi. But I'm here for you. We'll find out. Whoever's responsible for this will pay." She grimaced. "Now help me clean up this mess before your parents get home. We'll keep her in my freezer until we can arrange a proper funeral."

Hitomi opened your mouth to argue, then immediately closed it. She remembered that Homura was an orphan and would not have parents snooping around and asking uncomfortable questions. That did not stop her from being horrified at the suggestion... or at what she would do and did do.

Madoka was a strange one, thought Kyubey as he sat outside her window later that night. A perfectly ordinary girl with a perfectly ordinary life, destined for a perfectly ordinary future. At least, that was the case until about a day or two ago. At that point, Madoka's karmic weight increased tremendously. Kyubey had never seen anything like it before. There had to have been a reason. People didn't just gain that kind of karmic burden without explanation. But even if there was a reason, Kyubey didn't care what it was or if he would ever find out. By his calculations, Madoka's witch would produce more than enough energy to fulfill his quota. Unfortunately, this would most likely result in the destruction of Earth, but Kyubey didn't care. He was incapable of caring. Life didn't matter… it never did. All that mattered was averting Entropy. All other considerations were trivial.

BOOM!

Kyubey's head exploded like an overripe tomato, splattering the bushes outside Madoka's window with his alien viscera. Despite the appearance of blood, Kyubey's insides were completely dry, and had a consistency similar to that of cookie dough. Indeed, had anyone thought to bite off part of Kyubey's body, they would have noticed that it tasted just like raw cookie dough. There was no blood, bones, organs, or anything else resembling earthly anatomy. Kyubey was a solid mass of red fluff covered by a white, furry pelt.

But such things were of little concern to Homura Akemi. She had "killed" Kyubey enough times to get used to the fact that he wasn't technically "alive" in any sense humans would be familiar with. All that mattered to her was staving off Madoka's contract, even if only for one more day. If Madoka contracted, Mitakihara Town would be destroyed. Indeed, the entire Earth would be destroyed… She would succeed this time, she resolved. As she did every attempt, she kept repeating to herself that she was going to succeed. Even if she had to destroy the world a million times, she would succeed. The sick, twisted irony of her line of thought was lost to her. As far as she was concerned, those one dozen worlds she had destroyed had stopped existing as soon as she went back in time.

She picked up the "corpse," and turned to leave.

THWACK!

A baseball bat smacked against the back of her head, and she was out like a light.

When Homura came to, she tried to open her eyes. She felt groggy and her head ached like hell. After her lids kept drooping, she finally succeeded on her eleventh try. She tried to stand up, but her body barely moved. She tried moving her arms, and only felt a sensation of tightness against her limbs. She looked herself over, and found that she was tied to a chair with several bundles of rope. She was powerless in this state, her shield and its vital time-turning power out of reach. She glanced around, noting that she was in a warehouse of some kind.

Suddenly, a shadow darted across her vision.

"So you're awake, then?"

Homura froze. That voice… it couldn't be… Her gaze slowly rose to the source. First she saw a pair of high heels, then purple stockings, then a skirt, and then… Standing about a meter or so in front of her was another Homura Akemi.

"You're… you're me. How is that even possible?"

The other Homura groaned. "Great… another clueless one. Let me guess, this is your ninth or tenth loop, right?"

"Sixteenth. I think."

"Whatever." The other Homura pulled out a baseball bat. "I'm really sorry about this, but I'm going to have to kill you."

"Wha—"

"Shut up. Explaining why would take a while, and I don't have time to waste." The other Homura smiled. "So please be a good girl and don't scream too much, okay?"

Homura did the exact opposite.

"Oh well, I didn't expect that to work." The other Homura stepped forward.

Homura kept screaming, hoping in vain that someone would swoop down and save her. The bat rose, and then… The other Homura's abdomen exploded, showering Homura with blood and intestines. She screamed even louder, if that was possible. The other Homura, impossibly, didn't fall down. She glanced down at the gaping hole in her abdomen, making an expression of distaste, and then turned around. Standing behind her was Homura's rescuers, Mami Tomoe and Kyubey. Mami could only stare in shock at the puella magi in front of her, unimpaired by her horrific injury.

The other Homura turned her head and spit out some blood. "Hurts like a bitch, you know." She smiled, showing bloodstained teeth.

« Impressive. You're still moving even after a crippling injury like that. Few puella magi can manage that, » Kyubey commented. « But your reaction time has greatly decreased. I doubt that you'll be able to deal with Mami's subsequent attacks. »

The doppelganger glanced at Homura. "I guess you got lucky this time." She glanced back at Mami. "You'll regret not letting me kill her when I had the chance." Then she darted away, shattering a nearby window and escaping into the night.

Mami stood still for a few moments, and then turned to the gore-stained Homura.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I… I honestly don't have a clue," Homura replied.


	3. Chapter 3

**Loop n+2. Wednesday, May 25, 20XX. 29 days until Walpurgisnacht.**

Madoka's rosy eyes burst open and she immediately sat up. She glanced around warily, blinking sleep out of her eyes. She was in her room, in the early morning. Just like virtually every other morning where she'd woken up in her bedroom for the last few years. Madoka sat up and stared out the window. Sunlight streamed in. The trees outside were in bloom. The buildings in the distance were all in their proper place. It wasn't cold and overcast and there weren't buildings floating through the sky. Everything was perfectly normal.

WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!

Alarm bells went off in Madoka's head. This wasn't possible. Everything could not suddenly have returned to normal after all that. Walpurgis destroyed the city! A thought suddenly occurred to her. Was that all a dream? It couldn't have been a dream. It was real! She remembered all of it! A sense of déjà vu washed over her. About a month before Walpurgisnacht, she'd woken up from a dream of the battle, an eerily prophetic dream. This was almost exactly like that, except she only remembered the last few moments of it that time. _This_ time, she remembered everything that had happened that month she knew Homura. Had she dreamed about the previous loop Homura had gone through? Kyubey had told her that Homura was a time traveler; that she'd traveled back in time many times for the purpose of saving her from becoming a puella magi.

A sense of dread crept over her. He had she traveled back in time herself somehow? Was any of what she was experiencing now even real? She pulled a teddy bear off the shelf. She hugged it. She put her nose to it and inhaled the familiar scent. It was… comforting, after all that. No, she decided. She knew what dreaming felt like. This was real. It was all real. Homura had really traveled back in time. Witches were real. Her friends had... Everyone had died. She hadn't been able to do anything to stop it.

The pinkette pushed off the covers, got out of bed, walked to her bedroom door, and opened it. Madoka went through her morning routine as usual, ignoring the oddly endearing sense of déjà vu. She walked down the stairs, stopping at the screen door leading to her father's garden. Her father was kneeling by the tomatoes, calm and without a care in the world.

"Hey, dad."

"Hey, Madoka," her father replied, glancing at her and smiling.

"Could you help—" She was already gone before he could finish. He shrugged, and then went back to examining tomatoes.

The door to her parent's room opened like it always did. Tatsuya was sitting on the bed, trying vainly to wake their mother. Madoka pulled open the window, and then pulled off the covers. Her mother, predictably, groaned and squirmed beneath the sudden intrusion. Madoka gave a half-hearted "rise and shine," went back to her room to dress, and then stepped into the shared bathroom. She didn't even bother to ask her mother to choose her hair ribbons.

"Madoka, are you alright? You seem a bit out of it."

Madoka turned to glance at her mother. Silence passed for a few seconds… Then the girl fell to her knees, breaking down in sobs. Was that all a dream? She hoped to God that it was, but if it wasn't, she knew what she had to do.

"Madoka! What's wrong?"

Madoka quickly composed herself and assuaged her mother's concerns. As usual, she got dressed, brushed her teeth, and stopped in the kitchen for breakfast. Despite all this, she still felt a feeling of dread, an atmosphere of impending doom. But no one else did.

Tatsuya was sitting in his high chair, trying to poke a red fruit with his fork, only to flick it off his plate. Without thinking, Madoka caught it, her hand a few inches above her mother's.

"Good catch, Madoka," her mother said.

Madoka placed it back on her brother's plate. "Yeah, I guess so," she said morosely. She turned and began walking to the front door.

"Is something wrong, Madoka?" her father asked.

Madoka silently cursed herself. She was still wavering from the events that, to her, had happened less than one hour ago. She wiped her eyes and composed herself a second time. "I'm fine," she lied. It was only while she was walking down the street that she realized she hadn't asked her mother to choose her hair ribbons. She brushed it off.

"Hey Madoka!"

Madoka perked up. Losing control of her faculties, she ran toward the voice, and wrapped the speaker in a bear-hug, suddenly breaking into a sobbing fit.

"Whoa! Are you okay, Madoka?" Sayaka said, completely confused by her friend's strange behavior.

Madoka pulled away, looking up at the blunette with watery eyes. "I'm sorry… I'm just really glad to see you."

Sayaka just shrugged. "Glad to see you, too."

The walk to school was normal, and Madoka found herself momentarily shocked just by how normal it was. Sayaka and Hitomi were chatting together and laughing, like nothing was wrong. Indeed, nothing _was_ wrong. Madoka was going to make sure it stayed that way.

The school day was the same as it was before. The teacher dragged her relationship issues into the lesson and _oh dear God there she was! _To Madoka's shock, horror, and eager anticipation, Homura Akemi walked into the classroom, none the worse for wear. Only Madoka knew the horrors she'd faced just a couple weeks ago. Just as before, Homura was mobbed by her new classmates, eager to know everything about her. Madoka found herself slightly jealous. Her thoughts suddenly hit a wall. How could she be _jealous_?

Breaking off her chat with Sayaka, Madoka walked over to Homura, interrupting the interrogation with a friendly, though forceful, "Excuse me?"

The three girls turned to stare at her.

"Pardon me, but I believe Miss Akemi needs to visit the nurse's office right now. Her heart medication, you see."

The three girls turned and strode away, while Homura remained seated, staring at Madoka as though she'd grown a second head. Madoka smiled.

"Please come with me?" she offered.

Homura sat up and complied. Madoka walked past the classrooms, other students staring through the glass as the mysterious new student. Homura didn't try to make small talk with her, but her expression relaxed. As soon, as they were in a sufficiently secluded spot, Madoka stopped walking, and whirled around.

It was Homura who spoke first. "You remember, don't you?"

Madoka nodded.

Homura's expression darkened and her hands closed into trembling fists. "Are you a puella magi?" she asked gravely.

Madoka shook her head, at which Homura immediately relaxed and gave a sigh of relief.

"I honestly don't know how I remember," Madoka explained. "I didn't tell you, but last time, I had a dream about you fighting Walpurgis. It was the most vivid dream I ever had." She rubbed her hands together, trying to calm her nerves. "This is a lot like that," she continued, "only the dream went back a lot further. I don't claim to know what you went through, but I don't want those horrible things to happen again. I want to help you, Homura!"

Homura smiled.

After school, Madoka spent her time with Sayaka at the mall, as she had the first time.

"Madoka? Are you alright?"

Madoka looked up from her cup of ice cream.

"I'm fine," she replied.

"Are you sure?" Sayaka continued. "You look like you're close to crying."

Madoka looked Sayaka right in the eye with a slightly scared expression. "Sayaka, can you promise me something?"

"Anything."

"If something seems too good to be true, pass up on it, okay?"

Sayaka just stared at her. "That's an odd promise to make."

"Please?"

"Alright! Alright!" said Sayaka, waving her hands in front of her. "I promise."

Madoka sighed. "You want to—"

« Madoka, help me! » a voice called in her mind.

Madoka froze, an expression of horror crossing her face.

"Want to what? Madoka?"

« Please, help me! »

Madoka quickly shook her head, and glanced back at Sayaka. "Let's get out of here. The mall doesn't seem so interesting right now."

Sayaka shrugged. "Sure."

A couple hours later, there was a knock on the door of a western-style house sitting at a crossroads.

"Come in," said Homura as she glanced up from her schematics.

Madoka stepped into the room.

"I got your message. So you skipped your first meeting with Kyubey?" Homura asked.

"Yes," Madoka replied. "But I'm worried."

"About?"

"Even if he failed this time, Kyubey's going to try again. I… I don't want to see Sayaka, Mami, or Kyoko die again."

Homura sighed. "Normally I would say that can't be helped, but now we're in this together. I can't say how you'd be able to change the outcome, but we can try." She got up from her seat and walked over to the pinkette, tentatively reaching a hand to touch her shoulder. "Will you be alright?"

Madoka glanced at her, expression darkening. "No. I won't ever be. Not until we fix this." Then she started crying.

Homura just stepped forward and placed her arms around the poor girl. "Shh," she murmured. "We'll fix this, Madoka. We have time."

All the time in the world...

**Loop n+2. Thursday, May 26, 20XX. 28 days until Walpurgisnacht.**

The next day, Madoka walked up to the apartment door nervously. She hadn't done this before and she wasn't sure what would happen. Homura stood right beside her, and that was all the support she needed. It had been difficult to convince the violette at first, but she'd relented rather quickly. Nonetheless, both were wary. In previous timelines this particular problem did not go well.

Madoka knocked on the door. A few moments later, it opened.

"Hello?" replied the familiar blond girl.

"Mami Tomoe?" asked Madoka.

"Yes, can I help you?"

"Can we talk to you?" Madoka shifted nervously. "It's about puella magi."

The blonde narrowed her eyes. "Alright, come on in."

Madoka and Homura stepped inside, and Mami motioned for them to sit at the table, where some tea was already prepared. She took a seat herself, and Madoka did so, but Homura remained standing.

"I've seen you around before," Mami said to Homura. "But you I don't know," she said to Madoka. "What's this about?"

"Well…" Madoka started, twiddling her thumbs. "This may be hard to believe, but we're time travelers," she explained, motioning to herself and Homura.

"Time travelers?" Mami repeated skeptically.

"Yes. Walpurgisnacht is coming here in a month, and we've come back to stop it from destroying the city."

"Walpurgisnacht?"

"It's the most powerful witch on the planet," Homura interrupted. "It's formed from countless witches fused together. When it begins to stir, witches across the world become more energetic. When it finally manifests in the real world, entire cities are destroyed. Mitakihara Town is next on the list."

"I see," Mami said. She took a sip of tea. "Can you prove any of this?"

"I know your parents were killed in a car accident," Madoka replied. "That's when Kyubey appeared and saved your life."

The teacup in Mami's hand began rattling.

"You were friends with a girl named Kyoko Sakura," Homura said. "When her father found out she was a puella magi, he went insane and murdered his wife and younger daughter before committing suicide."

The teacup fell onto the table and shattered, spilling tea across the tabletop.

"Get out," Mami said, her face red with anger. "I don't know what sick game you're playing, but I want no part of it."

"Ask Kyubey," Madoka said, her lip trembling. "Please. We're telling the truth."

Mami glared at her. "I said get out!"

Madoka stood up, tears welling in her eyes, turned and ran out the door. Homura glared at Mami before following after. A few blocks later she found the pinkette sitting on a bench, her head in her hands. The violette sat down beside her.

"Madoka?" she asked.

"It doesn't make any sense!" cried Madoka. "How can someone accept the existence of magic but deny the possibility of time travel?! That's arbitrary skepticism!"

Homura placed a hand on the pinknette's shoulder. "Madoka," she began. "Mami's psyche is incredibly fragile. Ever since she became a puella magi, she's been under incredible stress."

Madoka raised her head and glanced back at Homura.

"You see that friendly demeanor that Mami always presents?"

Madoka nodded.

"It's just a mask," explained Homura, "that hides an inner turmoil. If she ever learned the truth about the puella magi system, the true identities of the witches she killed, the fates of the puella magi she befriended and mentored… her mind would just break."

"W-what happened last time?" asked Madoka, lips quivering.

"She tried to kill us. You shot her."

Madoka gasped in horror. "But then… Homura, how do you stay sane?"

"A puella magi's fate is tied to her despair. So I simply stopped feeling."

Madoka simply stared at her in shock, her hands dropping to her sides. "That's… that's not healthy. How can you just deny your emotions? It's not human!"

"Of course not," she replied, coldly. "Puella magi are not human. _I_ am not human."

Madoka grabbed the violette's shoulders and shook them, tears falling freely now. "That's not true! If I prick you, don't you bleed? If I tickle you, don't you laugh? If I kill you, don't you die?" ranted the pinkette, unconsciously quoting _The Merchant of Venice_. "It doesn't matter whether you're a puella magi! Being human is about _who_ you are, not _what_ you are!"

Homura simply stared at her, her expression unreadable. "I… never thought about it that way before," she stated simply.

The two of them stared at one another in silence for several moments.

"We should go. She has little over a week to live," said Homura, as she stood up.

Madoka nodded, sniffling, and then stood as well. Both girls walked off, getting ready for a long week.

**Loop n+2. Saturday, June 4, 20XX. 19 days until Walpurgisnacht.**

When that day finally came, Madoka and Homura entered the labyrinth themselves without ever alerting Mami to its presence. Things were simpler that way. It was business as usual for Homura, but Madoka felt an odd sense of relief as the caterpillar witch idiotically devoured bomb after bomb. After the labyrinth disintegrated, Madoka walked up to the grief seed that was sitting on the ground. She glanced back at Homura.

"Who do you think she was? Before all this?" asked Madoka, who motioned at the seed.

"I don't wonder about who these witches used to be. It isn't helpful to think about that," Homura replied.

"But… we can't just leave her like this. There has to be some way to change her back." Homura shook her head.

"We both know that's not possible."

"No! We don't know that for sure. If there's even the tiniest possibility that we can save her…" Madoka trailed off as she noticed a pair of beady red eyes staring at her from the shadows. "Kyubey? Have you been watching us this whole time?"

Homura glared at the white creature as it stepped out of the shadows. Madoka quickly bent down and scooped up the seed before getting back up and turning to Kyubey.

« I have. How is it that you know who I am? We've never met before. »

"That's… that's not important right now. I… I have a question for you," said Madoka.

Kyubey cocked its head. Homura motioned for Madoka to stop talking with it, but the pinkette continued.

"Is it possible to…" Madoka chose her words carefully. "I mean, has anyone ever successfully changed a witch back into a puella magi?"

« There was a team of puella magi in Asunaro City, the Pleiades Saints, who'd tried to reverse the transformation of a member of their team. Their results, while still imperfect, were surprisingly progressive. »

Madoka perked up at this, while a strange expression came over Homura's face.

"Really? They're making progress?" asked the pinkette.

« At this point they'd nearly perfected retraining the grief seed to function as a soul gem and attaching it to a cloned body. Aside from some fatal errors, their last experiment almost succeeded. »

Madoka frowned. "Wait… fatal errors? What happened?"

« Their research proved quite enlightening. Their hypotheses were flawless, but the execution proved lacking and ultimately resulted in their demise. A real pity, too. »

Madoka didn't show up for school the next week.

**Loop n+2. Sunday, June 5, 20XX. 18 days until Walpurgisnacht.**

"Stay behind me, Yuma," ordered Kyoko, holding her spear at the ready.

"Is that anyway to greet your old friend, Kyoko?" the sinister green-haired girl asked as she advanced on them menacingly, twirling a scythe in her hands.

"I don't know who the hell you are, sister, but you ain't no friend of mine," Kyoko spat.

Yuma whimpered pitifully from her vantage point behind Kyoko.

The greenette gasped in mock shock. "Kyoko! That really hurts, you know. Don't you remember little Hitomi Mizuki?"

Kyoko snorted. "Look sister, I don't know who you think you are, but you're either going to scram or I'm going to pulverize you."

Mizuki smirked and raised her scythe, only for four blades to burst from the front of her chest. She glanced down at the gaping wounds, before slumping forward and vanishing in a flash of purple lightning. Standing behind were she had been was another puella magi, a dark-haired girl wearing a black blouse and a white skirt, with large sickles hanging from her sleeves like claws.

"Look," she began, "I don't know who any of you are, but Oriko sent me here to get you. We need to go to Mitakihara Town right now."

"Hold on, girl," replied Kyoko. "We aren't going nowhere with you. Least not until you tell us why that chick's trying to kill us."

The other girl shrugged. "Sure. Name's Kirikia Kure."

"Kyoko Sakura," Kyoko replied.

"Y-Yuma Chitose," Yuma stammered.

"Nice to meet you," said Kirikia. "Now, here's how it is…"


	4. Chapter 4

**Loop n+2. Monday, June 6, 20XX. 17 days until Walpurgisnacht.**

"Hey Madoka!" Sayaka and Hitomi said happily as they walked into the pinkette's room.

"We heard you weren't feeling well, so we made you a copy of the notes and homework," explained Hitomi.

"You okay, Madoka?" asked Sayaka.

Madoka lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Initially, she just continued to lay there and didn't acknowledge her two best friends at all. After a few moments, however, she slowly sat up, got off the bed and stepped over to Sayaka. The girl's blank pink eyes bored into her friend's confused blue ones.

"Madoka, you're kind of freaking me out here," said the bluenette.

Sayaka was alive. She wasn't a puella magi. She wasn't a witch. She wasn't _dead_. Madoka's best friend for years was standing right in front her, back from the dead, as though nothing had changed. Was what she going to do? Sayaka was doomed. The moment Kyubey appeared, her fate was sealed. There was nothing Madoka could do to stop it… not unless she wanted to break Sayaka's heart. Without warning, Madoka wrapped her friend in a bear hug and began sobbing in earnest.

"Madoka! What's wrong?" asked Hitomi in concern.

Sayaka simply glanced at the small girl who clung to her chest as if her life depended on it. She tentatively lifted a hand and patted Madoka on the back. Madoka's sudden change in behavior was off-putting at best.

"It's okay. I'm here now. You can let go of me," she said.

Madoka let out a few more sobs, before she released Sayaka and stepped back to look the bluenette in the eye. That cinched it. Sayaka wasn't making a contract ever again. If she was sad about violin-boy, well fuck him then. There were plenty of other fish in the sea. Besides, middle school romances never lasted. Only foolishly idealistic children believed otherwise.

"I thought you were dead," the pinkette began, tears falling down her face. "Please don't leave me, Sayaka! I don't want to go through that again!"

"Whoa, whoa! I'm right here. I'm fine. What's up with you? Why would you ever think I'm dead?"

Madoka began glancing around, her eyes wide with fear. She'd just realized that she'd forgotten one very, very important detail.

"He isn't here, is he? He could be anywhere, watching us," she said.

"Madoka, you are officially scaring us. Who are you talking about? Is someone stalking you?" asked Hitomi, her voice heavy with concern.

Madoka glanced at the greenette.

"Kyubey," she replied cryptically.

"Kyubey?" Sayaka asked in confusion.

Hitomi's eyes widened.

"He looks like a stuffed animal… but he's not. He's a monster. He—"

All of a sudden, the walls began melting away only to be replaced by crayon drawings as a ghoulish tittering began to fill the air. Sayaka glanced around in confusion while Hitomi gasped in shock. This was not even remotely normal. Rooms don't just vanish for no apparent reason. They certainly aren't replaced with something out a creepy stop-motion animation.

"What the—? Where did the room go?" asked Sayaka fearfully.

"No, no, no, no! Not now! Not here!" Madoka fell to her knees and began sobbing again. The pinkette's protests were quickly drowned out by her wails. How could she have been so stupid? Her pain, her sorrow… it only served to attract them right to her. The witches were coming…

Sayaka stared up in fear as something traveled across one of the walls toward them. It looked like an animated crayon drawing of a pig-tailed girl riding in a miniature airplane. It giggled as it closed in on them. Before it reached them, however, a number of shapes resembling cotton balls appeared and began swarming around it.

"We need to run, help me carry Madoka," Hitomi ordered Sayaka, taking charge of the situation. Her clothes immediately changed into a utilitarian uniform and an emerald appeared on the back of her hand.

"Your clothes!" exclaimed Sayaka. "Hitomi, what—"

"No time! Hurry!"

The two girls quickly turned and ran to their sobbing friend, pulled her to her feet and supported her between them, and ran off in the opposite direction from the distracted cotton balls as fast as they could. The ghoulish tittering continued to follow them. After running what they assumed was a couple hundred meters, which was difficult to judge with the environment resembling an acid trip, they stopped. A dark-haired girl wearing an odd outfit with purple trim stood in front of them. She held out one hand.

"Come with me if you want to live," said Homura. Her tone left no room for argument.

Though she didn't show it, Homura was quaking in her dark violet high-heeled boots. This was completely unprecedented. Though the loops were not identical, they were generally consistent in the overall outcome of the events and their ordering. Now, all of a sudden, multiple witches were now converging on the Kaname residence, even coming to blows. There was only one possible explanation: Madoka.

"Who are you? What's going on?" asked Sayaka.

The bluenette in front of her, an openly weeping Madoka held between her and the greenette, had the gall to look their gift horse in the mouth. Didn't she realize their lives were in danger?

"There's no time," replied Homura. "Dozens of those creatures are converging on this location. We need to get out of here, now."

"What about Mister Kaname and Tatsuya?" asked Hitomi in worry.

Homura's eyes widened. How could she have forgotten? She'd have to backtrack into the house. She couldn't just let innocent people get killed, especially not Madoka's family. Every loop counted and, though she denied it, each got worse than the last.

"We'll bring them with us on the way out. Take my hand, now!" cried Homura.

Sayaka glanced at the outstretched hand, distrustful even in these trying circumstances. Homura, however, quickly grabbed her. In an instant, the world around them became frozen and grey. Impossible as it seemed, time itself stood still in complete violation of the laws of physics. If they weren't running for their lives, the girls might've found it a lovely sight-seeing tour.

"Huh?"

"Hold on tight, and whatever you do, do not let go," explained Homura and she pulled the bluenette along, while Hitomi followed carrying Madoka in her arms with abnormal strength.

The gateway to the labyrinth appeared in front of them, the strange multicolored emblem floating in mid-air. It wouldn't remain stable for long, with dozens of familiars battling on behalf of their witches for control. Experienced puella magi sometimes joked that the best way to destroy a witch was to get two of them in the same place and watch nature take its course. In this case, that was the worst case scenario. Homura and Hitomi pulled the two girls through the portal, and they suddenly found themselves back in Madoka's room.

"Hurry!" ordered Homura.

The girls ran out of the room and struggled to get down the stairs, which weren't designed to admit four people at once. Tomohisa Kaname and his four-year-old son were in the kitchen, frozen like the rest of the world and ignorant of their impending doom.

"They're frozen," exclaimed Sayaka.

A second later, the world unfroze. Tomohisa immediately noticed them and stared in confusion. Four girls, including Madoka, her friends and a girl he'd never seen before, had just appeared in his kitchen out of thin air, as though by magic… which, incidentally, was exactly what it was.

"Huh? Madoka? How did you—"

"Kaname, our lives are in danger," Homura quickly explained. "Grab Tatsuya and come with me, now."

"But I—"

"Hurry!"

Tomohisa put down the carving knife and ran over to his son's high chair and pulled the boy out. He turned around and looked at Homura in confusion, awaiting further instructions. Something had gone seriously wrong if he was listening to a fourteen-year-old girl in a crisis situation.

"Sayaka, grab his hand! Hurry!"

Sayaka obeyed, adrenalin surging through her veins. Then the world froze again, much to the shock of Tomohisa. Sayaka took it in stride, this being the second time she'd seen it and her brain addled with adrenalin.

"What's going on? Madoka, are you alright?" asked Tomohisa in shock and confusion.

"No time!" said Hitomi. "Follow us and don't let go even for a moment!"

Homura and Hitomi ran, and took with then a sobbing wreck plus a girl, a little boy, and a grown man the latter three of whom had no idea what mess they had fallen into. Had they understood what was going on, they probably would've reacted like Madoka did. Fortunately, they did not… yet. Instead, their small party ran out of the house and stopped along the sidewalk.

"Can you explain what's going on?" asked Sayaka.

"Short version," Hitomi explained, "we're puella magi, those are monsters, we're trying to save your lives."

"Where are we going?" asked Tomohisa.

Homura swore. She hadn't thought that far. Freezing time would not protect them forever.

"What about the key?" suggested Hitomi. "Could we use psychometry or something to locate its source?"

"As good a suggestion as any," Homura replied. "I'll try that, you make sure we're safe." Homura pulled the key from her pocket and then concentrated on it, hoping this would work. "I feel something," she said after a moment. "A… pulling sensation?"

"Great," said Hitomi. "Lead the way."

The party walked along the sidewalk and then across a couple of streets, before stopping at an intersection. Homura walked up to a phone booth at the street corner and stopped.

"This is it, I think," she said.

"A phone booth? They still make those?" mused Sayaka.

Hitomi had to admit, it was unusual when everyone had cell phones.

"The key must go here," said Homura, examining a keyhole on the booth's door. "I'll have to unfreeze time to open it."

They did so, ignoring the stares of passerby as six people materialized from thin air. Homura pushed the key into the lock, turned it, and opened the door. The six of them quickly stepped inside and shut the door behind them.

"This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder," said Tomohisa.

The inside of the booth was not the typical interior of a phone booth, but a large chamber with metal walls, catwalks, and a cylindrical computer console of baroque design sitting in the center. Leaning against the console was a young man with dark hair, wearing a stylish red blazer. An old-fashioned saber hung from his belt.

"Oi, Hitomi, you should call ahead before you invite guests," he said.

"Who are you?" asked Homura, Hitomi, Sayaka, and Tomohisa.

"I'm the Adventurer. As the name implies, my purpose in life is to go on wild and amazing adventures across time and space."

They stared at him in confusion.

"Hitomi," he began, "did you hit your head or something and lose your memory?"

Hitomi shared a look with Homura. The violette made a slashing motion across her neck with her hand.

"Uh," Hitomi started, "I think so, but I guess I don't remember forgetting?"

Before they could continue, the door slammed open. The other Homura entered the chamber, holding a terrified Kamijo Kyosuke in front of her with a pistol pointed at his head. "I just killed a dozen fucking witches and went on a wild snipe hunt across half the fucking city," she exclaimed angrily. "Nobody move or violin boy here decorates the wall with his brain. Squish," she threatened.

Homura regarded her opponent warily, Hitomi cradled Madoka protectively, Sayaka and Tomohisa quailed in fear, and little Tatsuya just stared blankly. The Adventurer's face darkened, and he glared at her menacingly. "Put away your gun and let him go," he ordered.

"Or what?" the other Homura replied haughtily.

"Or this."

In a flash, the adventurer had drawn his saber and summersaulted the length of the room. The doppelganger blinked and glanced at the Adventurer now standing in front of her with a smug expression on his face. Then she glanced down and noticed the saber sticking diagonally out of her chest, narrowly missing Kyosuke. It had plunged at the way to the hilt and impaled her through both the heart and spine.

Growling, she pushed Kyosuke away and shot all six of the pistol's bullets right into the Adventurer's torso. He crumpled to the ground like a broken doll. The doppelganger stumbled backwards, bleeding and partly paralyzed, and tried to draw another weapon.

BLAM!

The other Homura blinked again and looked at her arm when it failed to respond. Her arm had been severed at the elbow and her forearm had fallen to the floor, still clutching the emptied pistol. She glanced up, seeing a glaring Homura with a smoking .44 revolver held in an outstretched hand.

The doppelganger spat blood on the floor in front of her. "You'll regret this," she spat venomously. "If you knew what I knew, you'd lay down your lives to escape what's coming." In a flash of purple lightning, she was gone. Even her severed arm had disappeared.

Homura ran the Adventurer's side. He was still breathing, but a pool of blood was spreading beneath him. "These wounds are fatal," she observed, "you'll be dead within moments."

Suddenly, the booth's central console began glowing, and the chamber began fading away.

The Adventurer glanced at Hitomi. "Those were great times we shared, Tomi-chan," he said morosely. "I'm sorry we couldn't have more."

Then he faded away along with the booth, and the party found themselves standing back on the sidewalk. Only now a grey-haired girl in a dress and a dark-haired girl in a sailor fuku were standing in front of them.

"Hello everyone," the grey-haired girl said cheerfully. "My name is Oriko Mikuni and this," she gestured to her companion, "is Kazumi Subaru."

**Deadworld. Location inexplicable. Time irrelevant.**

_« Wishes to change the past have always been made, » mused Kyubey as he walked amidst the ruins of Mitakihara Town, « But the wisher has always been lost to us, entering a vegetative state or vanishing completely, and the changes never come to pass. I've long assumed this was a safeguard to prevent causality violations, but for the first time I've met a time traveler from another timeline. »_

_Homura Akemi opened her eyes. She was lying on the ground, in a puddle, with a white ferret sitting on her chest. She blinked a few times._

_"What's going on?" she asked aloud. "How did I get here?"_

_« So my hypothesis was correct. Homura's time travel worked by displacing the soul of her alternate past self. This should prove to be a fascinating area of study. »_

_Homura sat up, and clutched at her head with her hands. "It really happened," she said. "I did all those things. I killed people... I... I..." She glanced up at the horizon, where a witch the size of a mountain was currently destroying everything in its path. "God... I killed everyone."_

_« Technically, it was an alternate version of you hijacking your body, » Kyubey helpfully interjected. « But if you want to try and stop the witch, you could always wish. »_

_She glared at him. "Do I really have a chance at defeating her?"_

_« It is possible. »_

_Homura closed her eyes and took a couple deep breaths. "I'll become an even worse witch then!" she cried, and sobbed into her hands._

_« I don't understand why you care so much about this planet. »_

_"Because there's fucking people on it, you bastard! Now they're all going to die!"_

_« I've exported humans to countless other planets in this galaxy. The loss of one is not particularly important. »_

_Homura was rendered speechless. She held to her hands to her mouth, desperately trying to stifle her horrified sobs. Everything had gone wrong, so horribly wrong._

Homura shook her head to clear the memory from her thoughts, then stepped through the door and walked out onto the school roof. In the middle of said roof was a long table covered in various food items, tea sets, clockwork toys, random junk and so on. A dozen chairs surrounded the table, a few empty, a few occupied by ragged stuffed animals, a few occupied by skeletons wearing clothes, and the seat at the head of the table was occupied by a garishly-dressed Hitomi, who was currently cleaning her scythe with a cloth.

"How was your day, dear?" asked Hitomi.

"Shove it Mizuki," replied Homura as she passed by.

The violette ignored the unconscious Homura doppelganger pinned to the chain-link wall by a number of knives in her limbs and torso like a butterfly in an insect collection. She veered to the right and slammed herself into the chain-link, cursing the heavens in frustration. After a few fits of anger, she calmed and leaned against the chain-link, her fingers curling around the metal. She gazed up at the sickly yellow sky. Then her gaze went down, pausing to view the skyline of decaying skyscrapers and gigantic broken gears. Finally, her gazed settled on the school yard. At the ground level of the school a couple hundred figures shambled around the building, occasionally trying to get inside by mindlessly banging their heads or limp arms against the boarded doors and windows. Needless to say, the _Wonderland_-like setup on the roof was horrendously out of place.

"I see that the zombies have added a few dozen new recruits," said Homura.

"There was a small portal storm about an hour after I arrived," explained Mizuki. "Some people came through and were promptly attacked." She paused in her scythe-cleaning ministrations to sip a cup of tea. "Although," she continued with a slightly more upbeat tone, "this one guy managed to mow through the horde and ran into the chaos wastes. If he hasn't discovered the wastes' psychoactive properties by now, he's wraith food or worse."

"I met the Adventurer," said Homura absently. "His reputation is greatly exaggerated."

"The Adventurer?" asked Mizuki, looking up from her scythe. "What happened?"

"I killed him."

"Really? How'd you do that?"

"I put six bullets in his chest."

"Oh," drawled Mizuki. "Well that's step _one_. What about two through ten?"

"Ah, Christ," Homura swore.

In a flash of purple lightning, another Hitomi appeared on the roof. This doppelganger wore a more utilitarian outfit and carried a shield in one hand.

"How has your progress been, T8J-287?" she asked flatly.

"Well," Homura began, "I failed twice already because some idiot always saves the day."

"Explain yourself."

"That stupid Kyubey's been spying on me and then the Adventurer showed up. I think it's the Coalition. The bastards have finally caught up with me after my handiwork in Acid Tokyo."

"I remember that," interjected Mizuki. "Good times, good times. No, it's definitely not the Coalition," she added. "Minor fate manipulations aren't their style. They prefer to crush nuts with sledgehammers… plus, the Gallifreyans have their heads way too far up their own asses to work with the idealistic fools."

"Even if you did succeed," Hitomi began, "you wouldn't be doing any better than I have. This doppelganger in particular has developed the power of reincarnation. Even after certain death, her consciousness continues to travel into new parallels and weave increasingly convoluted webs of fate." She gestured to the doppelganger pinned to the wall. "A lot like this one actually. She's been through so many horrible deaths that her karma's finally landed her in this purgatory. I found her wandering here days ago. She's been surprisingly cooperative, although a bit insane, sadly." _More so than you two_, she thought.

"Speaking of which," Mizuki replied, "the local wraiths have been quite agitated lately. We may need to prepare for another big storm soon. An infestation of Abyssal larvae is the last thing we need right now, no matter how tasty their damned little souls are."

Hitomi sighed and looked over her two compatriots. "Your grief gems are low. You can work later. Recharge for now. I insist." She gestured to the pinned girl again. "_She_ should provide adequate grief. Do try not to grief her to death, please."

Homura turned around and sneered. "You search for the scent of your prey," she said, "and then you hunt them down. That's the _only_ thing you're committed to." She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "I'll speak with the G-Man," she said after a moment. "See if he can lend us another Gene Worm egg. Failing that I'll just raid the Combine for shit."

"I don't trust the G-Man," said Mizuki. "They're creepy and I think they like it that way.

Hitomi sighed. With friends like these, who needed enemies?

**Overwatch-314 Observation Deck.**

"Sir, I think there's something you should see," a technician called.

The overseer's single red optic glanced across the row of terminals to the speaking technician's. Displayed on his screen was a four second piece of repeating footage, depicting a lobby with several guards, systematically slaughtered by a dark shape moving too fast to track.

"What is this?" asked the overseer.

"The last message from Tertiary Observation Tower 659," the technician replied. "We've lost contact."

"Another one?" The overseer paused for a moment. "Is it raiders?" it asked.

"Unclear at this time, sir."

The overseer stared more closely at the footage, then paused it and passed through a few frames. The dark shape could be clearly made out this time. It was a young girl with long, violet hair, holding a shotgun. The Technocratic Union would be _very_ interested in this…


End file.
